Children's home run by Esland North Limited in Amber Valley

Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 1 SC489516 Registered provider: Esland North Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is owned by a private company. The home provides care for a maximum of two children aged between 10 and 17 years. It specialises in caring for children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or moderate learning disabilities . The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2021 and is currently completing the level 5 qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 27 October 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on our website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/08/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/10/2018 Full Outstanding 01/08/2017 Full Outstanding 14/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are very complimentary about the home. One child said, ‘I like living at the home. The staff are really good, and I get on with everyone well.’ The relationships between staff and children are a strength of the home. Although children enjoy living in this home, there are a number of small maintenance tasks that require attention.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive appropriate healthcare support. This includes more specialist support and services. Staff work well with other health agencies. One child requires an operation and is anxious about this. Staff have worked closely with professionals to reduce the child’s fears and anxieties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children receive education. However, their educational progress is variable. This is due to their personal challenges, rather than to a lack of support from staff and the manager. The manager is a strong advocate for children, ensuring that there is a plan in place to support each child to increase the levels of education they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to engage in education, despite long periods out of school. Children have aspirations for their future, and staff are ambitious for children, motivating them to succeed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have highly structured key-work sessions. These help them to achieve realistic goals and expectations. One child wished to join the local fire cadets. Staff have encouraged and supported him to pursue this. As a result, he has secured a place for September. Other key-work sessions help children to explore strategies to help with anger management and frustration.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Risk assessments identify children’s needs and vulnerabilities. These assessments provide staff with guidance in managing risk and keeping children safe. Consequently, children are helped, protected and safeguarded.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The use of physical intervention has reduced. Staff use a restorative approach to help children reflect on incidents. Staff training equips them with the skills they need to keep children safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Managers thoroughly debrief children and staff following any physical intervention. This provides managers with an oversight of whether a physical intervention was necessary and proportionate. Physical intervention to manage incidents is only used as a last resort.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children rarely go missing from the home. This is a result of the relationships children have with staff and staff being extra vigilant when they know a child is Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 4 unsettled. When children have gone missing from the home, staff act on this without delay. Staff work in accordance with missing from care protocols and they are proactive in working together with agencies to locate children in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is registered with Ofsted. He is skilled and knowledgeable and has a very good understanding of the children in his care. He is focused and ambitious in his approach, with a clear vision for the development of the home going forwards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager understands the strengths and weakness of the home. He acts quickly to address any shortfalls or areas for development. He is highly organised and has embedded highly effective monitoring and review systems. This has been key to the smooth running of the home and helped improve the behaviour management practices of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff reported that they receive excellent support from the manager. One staff member said, ‘He is fantastic. I can go to him about anything. We really are one big family.’ Staff receive regular structured supervision and team meetings. This has supported them to remain positive in their approach to the care of children. Staff morale is very high within the team, despite their having faced challenges. This is a result of outstanding leadership and management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Training and development opportunities are comprehensive. Bespoke training focuses staff on children’s needs. Therapeutic support from the clinical team provides additional support for staff when required. Staff members are either qualified or enrolled on suitable training programmes that enhance their knowledge and skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is a strong advocate for children, and this was echoed by other professionals. For example, he proactively pursued the appropriate education provision for a child following a significant delay in his education start date. The manager challenged involved agencies and, as a result, the start date was brought forward. Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of the children. The environment would be improved if the small maintenance tasks were completed in a timely way. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Esland Ltd, Suites 1 & 5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper DE56 0RN

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Inspector

Zoey Lee, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 7 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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